Vision systems that perform measurement, inspection, alignment of objects, surface profiling (e.g. sensing surface displacement using a projected laser line) part/feature detection and/or decoding of symbology (e.g. bar codes, or more simply “IDs”) are used in a wide range of applications and industries. These systems are based around the use of an image sensor, which acquires images (typically grayscale or color, and in one, two or three dimensions) of the subject or object, and processes these acquired images using an on-board or interconnected vision system processor. The processor generally includes both processing hardware and non-transitory computer-readable program instructions that perform one or more vision system processes to generate a desired output based upon the image's processed information. This image information is typically provided within an array of image pixels each having various colors and/or intensities.
Often, a vision system camera includes an internal processor and other components that allow it to act as a standalone unit, providing a desired output data (e.g. decoded symbol information) to a downstream process, such as an inventory tracking computer system or logistics application.
The various vision system applications described above applications typically each dictate significant and discrete differences in the image formation system and/or communication interfaces, rendering a “universal” vision system platform problematic. One approach to offer more flexibility in the image formation system is to offer a number of accessories (lenses and lens attachments, thread extenders, illumination PCBs) but, especially with small devices, these accessory parts can be small and difficult to mount outside the production environment. Thus, this approach makes it challenging to attain optimum performance for each of the desired vision system applications.
In addition, various vision system tasks dictate vision system configurations with particular form factors to achieve optimal results. For example, in some applications it is more convenient to install the system with the cables and connectors (e.g. extending from the rear of the camera housing) in-line with the camera axis. Conversely, in other applications an “angled” system (e.g. with connectors/cables perpendicular to camera axis) provides a desired arrangement. Moreover, systems often lack versatility in types of communication interfaces—for example, a user may desire Ethernet, RS-232, serial, USB and/or FireWire, but be limited in the availability of such connectivity in the particular camera being employed.
By way of example, a vision system camera commercially available as model Lector 620 from Sick, Inc. of Minneapolis, Minn. provides a fixed camera body with a lens arrangement that rotates about a 45-degree angled surface on the body so as to orient the optical axis either in line with, or at 90-degrees with respect to the body's longitudinal axis. This is a relatively limited solution that only addresses the ability to place an otherwise fixed lens in either a “straight” or “angled” configuration with respect to the camera body. Thus, all of the above-described challenges remain, to one extent or another, unsatisfied by existing vision system arrangements.